Turkey: Charges filed against jailed Amnesty staff and rights defenders must be rejected

· Charges against the 10 increased to include “membership of a terrorist organisation”

Responding to news that a prosecutor has filed an indictment calling for jail terms of up to 16 years on terror charges for 11 human rights activists including İdil Eser and Taner Kiliç, the director and chair of Amnesty International Turkey, John Dalhuisen, Amnesty International’s Europe Director said:

“This outrageous indictment contains no new evidence but instead repeats absurd allegations against some of Turkey’s most prominent human rights defenders.

“These brave activists have languished in jail for months on end for no reason other than their belief in human rights. For them to have spent even day behind bars is a gross injustice.

“This indictment is little more than a tawdry patchwork of innuendo and untruths and is itself a damning indictment of the flaws in Turkey’s justice system. The court must reject it in its entirety and ensure that our friends and colleagues are immediately and unconditionally released.”